Harneys advises on £2 billion investment in Anglo American by Volcan Holdings PLC

Harneys advised Volcan Holdings PLC on its purchase of £2 billion shares of Anglo American Plc, one of the world’s largest mining companies. The purchase will be funded via the issue of £2 billion Secured Limited Recourse Mandatory Exchangeable Bonds due 2020 by Volcan Holdings PLC and secured by Anglo American Plc’s shares.

Volcan Holdings PLC is a holding company of Indian mining billionaire Anil Agarwal, who is founder and 69 per cent shareholder of FTSE 250-listed Vedanta Resources. Agarwal pledged 21.65 per cent of Volcan Holdings PLC’s shares to JPMorgan and Vedanta bonds worth $123 million in the deal. The investment is being made by Volcan alone, Vedanta is not participating in the purchase.

British mining firm Anglo American is one of the world’s top five mining groups alongside BHP Billiton Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Vale SA and Glencore Plc. It was founded by the illustrious Oppenheimer dynasty in South Africa a century ago and its key assets include giant copper mines in Chile, iron ore operations in Brazil and South Africa and De Beers, the iconic diamond producer.